Primary familial brain calcification (PFBC) is a neurodegenerative disorder with characteristic calcium deposits in the basal ganglia and other brain areas visualized on neuroimaging. Most affected individuals are in good health during childhood and young adulthood and typically present in the fourth to fifth decade with a gradually progressive movement disorder and neuropsychiatric symptoms. The movement disorder first manifests as clumsiness, fatigability, unsteady gait, slow or slurred speech, dysphagia, involuntary movements, or muscle cramping. Neuropsychiatric symptoms, often the first or most prominent manifestations, range from mild difficulty with concentration and memory to changes in personality and/or behavior, to psychosis and dementia. Seizures of various types occur frequently, some individuals experience chronic headache and vertigo; urinary urgency or incontinence may be present.

Autosomal recessive idiopathic basal ganglia calcification-7 is a neurologic disorder characterized by onset of symptoms in adulthood. Patients present with dysarthria, gait abnormalities, various movement abnormalities, and often cognitive decline. Brain imaging shows abnormal accumulation of calcium deposits in deep brain regions, including the basal ganglia, thalamus, dentate nuclei, cerebellum, and sometimes other areas of the brain and spinal cord. Some patients with brain imaging abnormalities may be clinically asymptomatic (summary by Yao et al., 2018). For a detailed phenotypic description and a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of IBGC, see IBGC1 (213600).

Autosomal recessive idiopathic basal ganglia calcification-8 (IBGC8) is a progressive neurologic disorder with insidious onset of motor symptoms in adulthood. Affected individuals develop gait difficulties, parkinsonism, pyramidal signs, and dysarthria. Some may demonstrate cognitive decline or memory impairment. Brain imaging shows extensive calcifications in various brain regions including the basal ganglia, thalamus, and cerebellum. Because serum calcium and phosphate are normal, the disorder is thought to result from defects in the integrity of the neurovascular unit in the brain (summary by Schottlaender et al., 2020). For a phenotypic description and a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of IBGC, see IBGC1 (213600).